McCain Blames Partisanship, Pelosi; Aide Calls Pelosi "Reckless"

29 Sep 2008 04:00 pm

A statement from Doug Holtz-Eakin has Sen. John McCain casting his lot with House Republicans who blame Democratic add-ons and Speaker Pelosi's pre-vote speech:

"Barack Obama failed to lead, phoned it in, attacked John McCain, and refused to even say if he supported the final bill.

"Just before the vote, when the outcome was still in doubt, Speaker Pelosi gave a strongly worded partisan speech and poisoned the outcome.

"This bill failed because Barack Obama and the Democrats put politics ahead of country."

And a senior McCain adviser said that Pelosi's speech "was one of the most reckless acts I've seen from a congressional leader in twenty years on the Hill."

A theory making the rounds of some Republicans is that Pelosi purposely sabotaged the bill to be able to blame House Republicans. Imagine, this theory goes, President Bush's making a partisan speech right before the Patriot Act vote.

"Desperate, petty," a Pelosi aide responded. "She is trying to do the right thing here to pass a bill that a lot of our people hated." A Democratic aide added: "The Republicans were worried about votes but they thought that momentum would carry it and both sides would keep working -- was the way they left it. No Republican asked to pull it. And 140 votes was more than what Pelosi promised Boehner."


On the other hand, maybe House Republicans were looking for an excuse?


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